Case for Support
Join us in advancing community-led development and solutions in San Ysidro, CA, to build a healthier neighborhood where all residents have the opportunity to thrive.
Casa Familiar (Casa) is a grassroots organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for underrepresented and underserved communities in South San Diego for over 50 years. We are the leading social service and community development organization in San Ysidro, engaging 20,000+ residents annually through over 30 bilingual programs and services ranging from senior to youth services, affordable housing, and arts & culture. Casa provides a holistic response to community needs, delivering direct programming while engaging in community development, organizing, and advocacy to address systemic issues affecting resident health and wellbeing.
San Ysidro, a vibrant, culturally rich San Diego community along the U.S.-Mexico border, faces significant challenges due to historic disinvestment, socio-economic conditions, and its unique location. It is a predominantly Latino, Spanish-speaking community where residents struggle with high levels of poverty and unemployment. Residents also suffer from environmental injustices, with high levels of air pollution due to its proximity to one of the busiest border crossings in the world.
Our Construyendo Juntos (Building Together) campaign aims to build a healthy, just, and sustainable San Ysidro where residents can reach their full potential. We accomplish this through restorative and community-centered development that promotes anti-displacement, wellness, and environmentally sustainable solutions. From constructing public parks and pedestrian walkways to affordable housing and community gardens, Casa Familiar engages residents from ideation through implementation to ensure development truly addresses the community’s needs.
Community engagement is necessary to ensure resident-driven development projects reflect the priorities and desires of the people they intend to benefit. Effective engagement requires time and resources to build relationships, train leaders, gather input, and implement feedback. Most traditional development funding does not provide support for this work. With multiple large development projects in the pipeline for San Ysidro, continued resident engagement is integral.
The Avanzado San Ysidro – Community Land Trust (ASY-CLT) is a 103-unit mixed-use development project integrating affordable housing, commercial spaces, and climate-resilient design. The CLT model ensures affordability in perpetuity, prevents displacement and builds wealth. Casa has secured nearly half the $90MM development budget and estimates groundbreaking in summer/spring 2025.
Extensive resident engagement, including collaboration with architects on project design, has shaped the project. However, ongoing efforts are needed to keep residents informed and involved. Once built, the ASY-CLT will be governed by a majority resident-led board. This governance structure ensures the project remains community-driven; however, it requires significant engagement to establish and maintain. Casa has met weekly with residents to define expectations and draft governing documents. Additional support is needed to ensure the success of this resident-driven model.
San Ysidro Blvd. Project
Casa has acquired 40,000 square feet of mostly contiguous properties along the neighborhood’s main commercial corridor. This will be the site of a future
mixed-use development project to include commercial space, housing, and community services. We need resident input to determine the specific uses for these spaces (type of housing, services, and businesses desired) and develop
a comprehensive vision.
Mobility and Workforce Development Solutions
We are busy ideating projects to address a need for cleaner, accessible transit options alongside workforce development opportunities. Engagement is needed
to inform project design and implementation.
We will use your donations to:
Better understand resident needs
Through surveys, community-wide forums, focus groups, and one-on-one interactions, we learn about our neighbors’ struggles and concerns to inform
and prioritize initiatives.
Gather resident feedback
Through design charrettes and design-build competitions, we bring architects
and planners together with residents to inform final project plans.
Empower community leaders
We ensure projects are truly community-led through capacity building and
the creation of decision-making and governance roles for residents within
development projects, like the resident majority CLT Board of Directors.
Share information
We update residents on the progress of community projects and new available resources through bi-monthly community meetings, canvassing, and social media.
Build relationships
Through daily interactions, ongoing activities, and community celebrations,
we build trust and nurture relationships with our neighbors so they continue to engage with us.
Wellness-focused infrastructure investments, driven by Casa Familiar Engagement from 2017- 2024, total nearly $33MM in the San Ysidro community.
Los Niños Playground
Casa supported a resident-initiated effort to advocate for a safer and more enjoyable space for children to play, which led to a $1.2MM public-private investment in 2017 to revitalize this centrally located pocket park.
San Ysidro High School Sidewalk
Casa Promotoras walked with students every Friday up the dangerous winding road to raise awareness and advocate for a safer route to school. This persistent effort resulted in a $17MM investment completed in 2019.
Beyer Park
An eight-acre park promised to the community nearly 50 years ago, Casa has advocated for its development for the past eight years. Breaking ground in 2024 will provide much-needed green space and amenities like a skate park, which Casa helped local youth organize around. Casa ensured the design included climate resiliency elements and secured over $770,000 in funding to increase the tree count from 60 to nearly 400 and incorporate hydration stations, art, shading, and other efficiency systems to enhance sustainability of the park (total project
cost $22.4MM). • Cultural Corridor – The transformation of a quarter-mile alleyway with poor infrastructure into a vibrant corridor connecting community assets and improving safety through public art, appropriate illumination, and vehicle speed control solutions. This alleyway is a direct line connecting the business corridor to public transportation. Casa envisioned this project with surrounding residents, and our advocacy efforts led to this $5MM public infrastructure investment set to break ground in early 2025.
La Semilla Climate Resiliency Center
This $8.5M project, currently in construction, results from years of resident engagement in environmental justice initiatives. The center will serve residents during climate and emergency events and provide programming year-round to empower them to address air pollution, extreme heat, drought, energy use, and other climate and community risks. It includes a community garden with a greenhouse, a micro-mobility garage, community meeting space, housing, and electric vehicle charging stations.
Help us reach our goal of raising $500,000 to support community engagement in our Construyendo Juntos (Building Together) Campaign. The funds will support resident engagement in Casa’s community development projects over the next two years. We are seeking donations of $50,000 to reach this goal by June 2025.
Ways to give
Online donations
Mail-in donations
Casa Familiar
119 West Hall Ave.
San Ysidro, CA 92173
Contact Lisa Cuestas, CEO of Casa Familiar, at lisac@casafamiliar.org for more information.